Sunday, August 19, 2007

Sunday 19th August - Weather: overcast and raining

Really only a quick visit to have a pick and prop up the mange tout and alderman peas that were flattened by the wind and the rain. Plenty to bring home today. Picked apples, globe artichokes, runner beans ' Enorma', mange tout, carrots, beetroot 'detroit', radish, turnips 'purple milan', lettuce 'little gem' and mizuna, sweetcorn 'swift' and babycorn 'minipop' and a mixed bowl of tomatoes including 'golden queen' and 'orange berry'.

Hacked back the sweetpeas as they have finished now, although I did manage to pick enough lovely new shoots with buds and flowers to fill a vase, and this opened up the space for the mange tout to stand up properly. The mange tout is performing excellently and is covered in flowers and tiny pods. The runner beans also seem to be enjoying this cooler wet weather as there are strings of beans from the ground to the top of the canes. I am going to have to use my imagination and discover some interesting ways of using runners. The carrots have no fly damage which is fantastic as I normally have to completely fleece them. I planted onions all around the outside of the carrot bed, and I have sown later. I don't know the life cycle of a carrot fly, I must find out because if it means sowing a few weeks later misses the problem, then it is well worth it. The same with the peas. The later peas have had no wigglies.

Back home to make greengage jam, Christmas spiced plum and apple chutney and Curried Rhubarb and apple chutney.

My theory is, men love gardening because it is as close as they can get to childbirth...without the obvious pain! They aquire their little seed,they place it in a soft bed of John Innes,they talk to it,water and feed it,and then birth,a seedling!